Concrete Floor Grinding, Staining, and Sealing
Economical Two Step Grinding Service with Staining & Sealing CONTACT US OR GET A QUOTETwo Step Concrete Floor Grinding with Staining & Sealing Service
Concrete grinding, staining and sealing is a great economical alternative to the full 10 step mechanical polish service. It is also a longer term floor type when compared to topical polish. In this process, the floor is “cleaned” using a minimum of two metal bond diamonds to cut the surface, removing minor coatings and surface dirt. This will prepare and clean the surface for proper adhesion in the staining or sealing process. This two step process will leave the concrete surface very flat and uniform.
While the full mechanical polish removes all scratches and leaves an almost mirror like high gloss finish, the 2 step grinding process will leave the concrete floor surface with a nice clean, matte looking finish with very consistent small swirl scratches adding a nice look to the overall finish. Once the grinding is complete, we can add a concrete stain to the surface, adding a great look to the plain concrete.
Typically we will use a water based stain that has a finish ranging from transparent to opaque and is very uniform. Once the stain is applied, we then add our ultra durable sealer.
Two types of sealer: solvent (darker) water-based (lighter)
Topical Sealer Diagram
Where to Use Floor Grinding and Sealing Services
The grind and seal option is very popular in a number of commercial and industrial applications but often is used for tenants of warehouse spaces that are looking for a economical great looking floor that is serviceable but would prefer not to invest in a full mechanical polish to only benefit the landlord when they leave. Other applications would include manufacturing, retail and food service. If you are interested in this service, we can grind and seal floors in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin and Northern Illinois.
Grinding and sealing concrete floors is a great option for someone looking for a good looking, clear, serviceable floor having moderate life expectancy that can be extended with different types of sealers. The sealers we typically use for this process are water-based but solvent-based acrylics are available to you as well. The solvent-based sealer will generally tend to darken the color of the stain whereas the water-based will only slightly change the finished color making it a great choice for those desiring a lighter floor color. The two differences between the sealers are final color and durability. When it comes to applying the solvent-based sealer, there needs to be proper ventilation and if ventilation that is not an option than the water-based sealer is the best choice.
See photo below for the finish difference between the right side with the water-based sealer and the left with the solvent-based sealer. See standard stain colors here.
Same gray color on both sides but right side is a water-based sealer, left side is solvent-based sealer.
Why Consider Grinding, Staining & Sealing Concrete Floors?
PRO’s
- Looks Great
- Fast (24-48 hours return to service)
- Easy to maintain
- Low Cost
CON’s
- Small swirls / scratches
- Small pits / holes (these were in the
concrete slab but often become more
noticable when grinding the floor and in
this system, we generally don’t repair
them unlike the full mechanical polish)
Service Time
The size of the area determines how long this process will take but generally speaking we can return the area back to service in 24 – 48 hours.
Our Process for Grinding, Staining & Sealing Floors
The grind, stain and seal process is much faster than the full mechanical polish due to the lessened number of steps. A full mechanical polish has 10 steps, this often has 2, maybe 3 steps.
We begin by grinding the surface with our industrial grinder and successive combination of diamond metals to achieve the desired outcome. First we start with coarse grit diamond tooling and gradually use finer grit diamonds (usually 30/70 metals, 70/120 metals or even transitional tooling) all depending on the current condition of the concrete surface. The idea is that we are removing the “ugly” surface, leaving a new, clean one.
We then have a number of options for sealers depending on the location and wear of the floor. If you choose to stain it, we would then apply the stain and a seal coat. Check our available colors online!
As we mentioned above, the lack of refining the floor with greater number of diamonds often will result in visible uniform swirls being the trade-off for the savings.
Grinding Swirl Marks – No Stain
Same Grinded Concrete Surface with Gray Stain. Swirl Marks Less Visible
Contact us for a free consultation today